Hysterectomies are carried out in hospitals, and generally the patient arrives the day before the procedure although she can come in the morning of the day of the operation.
The hospital stay depends on the procedure used:
- between 24 and 72 hours after a laparoscopic procedure or a vaginal hysterectomy
- between 3 and 5 days after a laparotomy
As with all hospital stays the patient should bring along:
- a Social Security health card or equivalent, (in France this is called the Carte Vitale)
- medical Insurance details
- all x-rays, scans, MRI results and recent test results (for example blood test results)
The patient must meet with the anaesthetist 48 hours before the day of the operation.
In general a patient is requested to arrive at the hospital in the afternoon of the day before the operations (hysterectomy, laparotomy, coelioscope...).
This is to:
- check that the patient’s health file is complete (conduct supplementary tests if necessary such as x-rays)
- prepare an appropriate intestinal treatment (laxative)
- maintain an atmosphere of calm (not generally facilitated by an arrival on the morning of the operation)
- prepare the area to be operated upon (hair removal, shaving, internal disinfection)
- should the hospital stay need to be reduced by 1 day, it is possible to conduct all these stages on the day of the operation
